Gayle Rubin’s landmark 1984 essay Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality has inspired a range of queer theorists in the decades that followed, with her Sex Hierarchy forming an important element of framing behaviours and identity politics. Rubin also noted in her 2011 reflective article Blood Under the Bridge: Reflections on “Thinking Sex” that an aspect of the original essay that she was particularly proud was her concept of ‘protoqueerness’. Rubin sought to move ‘beyond single issues and single constituencies, from women and lesbians and gay men to analyses that could incorporate and address with more intricacy the cross-identification and multiple subject positions that most of us occupy.’ Rubin also sought in her original essay to engage with social and economic change, for example in relation to queer spaces. This project will use Rubin’s classic work and her subsequent reflections, drawing upon the sex hierarchy model to examine behaviour(s) identified (for example, but not limited to, her contrast between vanilla or ‘S/M’, pornography/no pornography, coupled/alone or in a group) and provide an original contribution examining the phenomena through a legal lens.
Proposals should clearly address how they propose to do this with a clear methodology, which is likely to include empirical work. This should be designed so as to be conducted remotely if national regulations and guidance require. Proposals should clearly situate their proposal in specific queer literature and queer legal theory.
This research project will be conducted within the Gender, Sexuality, and Law Research Group in the Faculty of Business and Law where you will join a rich and thriving research community. Examples of doctoral work that has been undertaken within this group include: same sex relationships and normative expectations; kink pornography and legal consciousness; equality and anti-discrimination law; international law, detention and sexual orientation and gender identity; and dating apps and HIV disclosure.
Eligibility and How to Apply:
Please note eligibility requirement:
- Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
- Appropriate IELTS score, if required.
- Applicants cannot apply for this funding if currently engaged in Doctoral study at Northumbria or elsewhere or if they have previously been awarded a PhD.
For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/
Please note: Applications that do not include a research proposal of approximately 1,000 words (not a copy of the advert), or that do not include the advert reference (e.g. RDF22/BL/LAW/ASHFORD) will not be considered.
Deadline for applications: 18 February 2022
Start Date: 1 October 2022
Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff. We welcome applications from all members of the community.
Principal Supervisor - Professor Chris Ashford
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